Star Light
by ReinaTheFoxDemon
Summary: Daryl/OC Enjoy:) If you like it please let me know in the comments, gives me more incentive to update :D
1. Prologue

_Run._

I can hear my heartbeat pulsating in my ears as i slide down the pine straw covered ditch. I have to get away, they're coming..

 _Hurry._ I can hear them behind me, making the trees branches snap. My sword bumps against my leg as I run, a familiar reminder and comfort. I will not be taken back. I will not.

 _Faster._

A tree branch slashes me in the face as I dodge a walker reaching for me. I grab one of the sai tucked under my arm in its holster and shove it though its rotten forehead, kicking it to the ground to release my weapon quickly.

 _Run!_ I don't hesitate and make a dash for the creek in front of me, I had to get away. I splash through the shallow creekbed and try to scramble up the side of the red clay bank. I hear voices...they're here..

"Shoot her!" I hear right before i start to pull myself up and out. I scramble to get over fast enough but a feel a sharp pain go through my calf as I'm pulling my feet out. I don't even look, I have to get away. I get up and start running again, or trying to. My mind trys to block out the pain as I limp away, my whole body in a thick sweat fron the adrenaline.

 _Get away._

I don't hear them anymore..I realize as I stumble out into a clearing. For a minute, I thought I was hallucinating, however the walkers reminded me I was definitely of sound mind as I slashed one in the face unsheathing my sword as I approached the fence.

 _A prison._ Walkers littered the outside but is that...people inside walking around..?

I was starting to come down from my adrenaline high and I started to feel my body tremble in pain and weakness. I decapitated another walker as it made a lunge for me and barley kept myself on my feet as I swung my katana.

My vision was getting blurry around the edges...how much blood had I lost..

I glanced down my body and saw my bottom right leg and chest covered in slick blood and red clay.

 _My chest..? Oh...the tree branch.._

"Dad!"

 _Dad?_

Darkness closed in on me as I searched for the owner of the voice. All I could hear now was the snarls of walkers slowly coming closer.

 _Help..._ I tried to fight it, but the more I did, the faster my vision seemed to leave me. I felt myself sliding to the ground and I gripped the end of my sword as hard as I could, trying to hold onto conciousness as the sounds of walkers became a deafening roar in my ears.

 _Well...this is it...see you soon Mom..Dad..James..._


	2. Chapter 1

_Darkness._

It swirled around me like a gigantic tidal wave. _Am I in hell...?_ Pain shot up the right side of my body, letting me know I was still alive. I struggled to open my eyes, willing my body to get up.

 _The walkers...the walkers are coming..._

I desperately tried to grasp my katana, only to realize it was nowhere within my reach. Immediatley I started to panic, forcing my body to move, to get up.

 _I will not die being eaten by one of those things..._

"Steady now," came a kindly voice, "you've been mostly dead for almost 24 hours."

The voice chuckled at his _The Princess Bride_ joke. If there had been different circumstances I probably would have laughed along with him, as it is though..

My vision was returning the more I worked at it, I could make out an older mans face, with white hair and beard looking down at me smiling slightly still from his joke. I opened my mouth to ask where I was but nothing came out but a hoarse whisper.

"Take it easy, Maggie could you bring me some water?" he said to someone behind him, "I know you must have a lot of questions, we will answer them for you but just know you are safe for now."

I managed to slowly nod my head once.

"Your senses are slowly returning, you have been in a coma for a whole day. Don't push yourself, you'll only make it worse on your body in the long run."

I heard footsteps approaching, more than one.

"Here you go Daddy," came a soft southern voice.

"Thank you darlin," the old man said as he turned away from me and returned with a bottle of water, "I'm going to help you lift your head up now, drink only a little a time okay?"

I nodded my head slighty, still trying to will my body to move on its own. The old man reached under my neck and slowly lifted me up to sip the water, it felt like heaven. At this angle, I could see three other people in the room. A pretty woman with short brown hair, a scruffy thin looking man with curly hair and a beard, and a lean but muscular man with shaggy hair falling in his face.

The old man gently rested my head back as I heard one of the men finally speak.

"How is she Hershel?"

"Better, I'm suprised to see her awake already, poor thing was exhausted and lost a lot of blood. Her body had started to go into shock long before she collapsed."

"With the grip she had on that sword it ain't a suprise she fought to wake up before she should've, damn near had to pry it out of her hand with her unconscious," came the soft growl of the other man's voice.

 _The prison...I remember now..._

"Thank..you.." i managed to croak out, my throat feels like it's on fire.

"Here drink," the old man I now knew was named Hershel said as he lifted my neck up once again.

"Thank Carl and Daryl," the tall, lanky one said as he approached where I laid, "If Carl hadn't spotted you and Daryl wouldn't have been so quick to act, you wouldn't be here right now."

I nodded my head as Hershel laid my head back down.

"You have questions I'm sure and so do we.." but the tall one who seemed to be in charge was cut off by Hershel.

"They will have to wait, she needs rest Rick," Hershel said looking up at him.

 _Okay so the old man is Hershel, the woman is Maggie, this one is Rick..._

"I know, I just wanted to let you know when you wake up, we'll talk. Your safe right now."

"Rick," I whispered looking hard at him, "Maggie," i said shifting my eyes to the woman, she smiled at me, "Hershel," i said softly to the old man with kind eyes. Finally my gaze swept to the other man in the room, his blue gaze piercing through the hair in his face. I gave him a hard look with my eyes, I thought it was pretty obvious what I wanted, but his gaze stayed steady and his mouth remained closed.

"That's Daryl," Rick said smiling at him and then returning his eyes to me with the smile still stuck on his face at Daryl's silence, "he's the one who ran out of here, fought off the walkers, and brought you in here."

"Thank you.." I said sincerely, returning my eyes to him.

He hesitated for only a moment before finally nodding and letting up on his stare to look at the ground and chew on the end of his thumb.

"Rest now," Hershel said quietly, "Stop fighting it, you've fought enough for a while."

I looked Hershel long in his eyes, finally finding what I needed to relax and let go. This man would not hurt me, these people would not hurt me. Hershel's eyes gave me comfort and I let go of my control. Let go of trying to fight back the fuzziness of reality and fell back into the sweet darkness.


	3. Chapter 2

My eyes fluttered open to the sight of a concrete ceiling. I slowly moved my fingers and moved my head from side to side, testing my body. My leg was a dull ache, I knew better than to try and move it just yet.

"Your awake," came a familiar voice.

I slowly turned my head towards the voice to find a young boy sitting beside me.

"We've all been taking turns keeping watch over you," he said getting up and walking over to my bed.

"Thank you...?"

"Carl."

"Carl...you were the one I heard before I passed out."

"Yeah I was yelling for my dad but Daryl got there quicker."

"You saved my life," I said smiling softly at the kid.

"No big deal," he mumbled as his eyes turned to the floor in embarrasment. It was endearing as hell, "I'm gonna go get my dad and Hershel," he said backing out of the room, "They're gonna want to know your awake."

"Okay," I said as he left the room.

I sighed out a huge breath and decided to try sitting up. My body ached, but I've been worse off, except for the leg. I managed to swing my legs over the side and sit up on the side of the bed. I felt better right side up. My leg was slightly twingeing with pain but nothing I couldn't handle. I was flexing my shoulders and back when Carl returned with Rick, Hershel, Daryl, and a grey-haired woman with short hair.

"Glad to see you up," Rick said as he entered the room and sat down in the chair Carl had been occupying previously.

"So am I," I said smiling slightly.

"The bullet was through and through so you should get mobility back in that leg in a day or two," Hershel said sitting down on the bed next to me.

"Thank you," I said looking into his kind eyes, "all of you," shifting my gaze to everyone in the room, "If you people hadn't helped me...well I would be dead. I owe you my life. "

"The gratitude is appreciated but we do have some questions that need answers," Rick said leaning forward and clasping his hands together in front of him.

"Like why did I run up to your fence half dead with a bullet wound in my leg?" I smirked at him, trying to make light of the situation.

"Well for starters," Rick laughed lightly, "And why your running around like the Japanese version of Rambo with a sword, an M4 slung across your back, the biggest field knife I've ever seen, a belt full of throwing knives, and a pair of pokers would be next."

I laughed at the last, "They're called sai actually. When all of this started the first weapons I had access to where my brothers collection of Asian weaponry. The sword he got in Japan, the sai in Okinawa, and the throwing knives in China."

"Legit throwing knives too, slender and easy to hide," Daryl said walking up beside Rick, "not a handle on the first one."

I nodded at him, impressed. Most people never noticed the difference.

"As for the bullethole, I was running from some rather nasty men. I tried to give them the slip by running through the creek but they caught up to me and one managed to get me in the leg," I said telling the truth.

"Why were they chasing you?" Rick asked looking me very hard in the eyes.

"Because I slipped from their grasp when the man who was guarding me met with his unfortunate end by means of the leg of a wooden chair stuck in his skull," I answered not takeing my eyes from his.

It got very silent in the room for a minute.

"And why would they have a scrawny blonde bitch tied to a chair huh?" Daryl said leaning against the wall with a cocky expression playing across his features, "Why they tie you up? What you do?"

I looked up at the scruffy but handsone man with a grim look in my eyes, "I was checking out a grocery store for supplies, got attacked by a few dozen walkers. They busted in...helped me fight them off. Didn't occur to me they were more dangerous than the walkers.."

I let the horror of what they had done to me fill my hazel-blue eyes, letting Daryl see the pain and suffering they put me through. I could still feel their grubby hands on me..

"This black shirt I'm wearing didn't use to be a crop top.. The more I struggled, the more they ripped at my clothes. After they each had their 'turn', they tied me to a chair and went to find food, leaving one behind to guard me. I killed him, got my weapons, and ran. I don't regret what I had to do to get away from them.. I would do it again."

Daryl's gaze finally left mine after I finished, looking silently to the ground.

"Turns out...the walkers arent the only evil lurking around out there..." I said letting my eyes fall to the ground as well.

I saw Rick nodding and he finally stood up, drawing my attention back to him.

"The coucil here has agreed to welcome you here, if you should choose to stay."

 _Really...they would let me stay here...?_ "

Thank you.." I said quietly.

Rick nodded once again, "Guess there's only one thing left to ask," he said smiling slightly as I gave him an inquisitive look, "What's your name?"

I smiled at the simple question, it had been so long since uttering my own name...

"Athena."


	4. Chapter 3

"We've cleaned out a cell for you to sleep in," the grey haired woman I now knew as Carol said as she helped me up from the bed.

"Thank you, but I would rather sleep outside if thats alright..I dont think I could sleep in a cage," I said leaning on her for support.

"Well..there is another guard tower if you would prefer that," Carol said unsurely, "The windows have been busted out mostly though, it will have to be cleaned out."

"Perfect," I said smiling at her.

"Not with that that leg its not," Carol laughed as we made our way outside, "Your gonna catch hell trying to climb up and down that ladder."

"Will be good excercise for it," I said as I sat down at a table and let her get me some water out of one of the big blue barrels.

There were lots of people here, kids even. I looked out on the prison yard and spotted Carl and Rick leaning over a fence.

"What's that?" I asked pointing to where they were standing.

"Oh thats the pigs. Hershel's idea. We rounded up some feral pigs in the woods and domesticated them. There's crops over there behind them. Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes."

"So Rick was a farmer before the world went to shit?" I asked skeptically, somehow it didn't suit him.

"Heaven's no," she laughed, "Rick was a police officer. Hershel was the farmer."

"Now that I can believe," I said smiling.

"We have a horse too but Michonne rode off on him about a week ago."

"Michonne?"

"Oh you and her will get along just fine. You like to play with the same toys," Carol smirked at me.

I obviously looked confused and shot her a questioning look.

"The sword," she laughed, "Michonne carries one on her back."

"Ahhh," I said understanding, "I like her already. Speaking of swords...where are my weapons?"

"Hershel has them for now, when you recover they will be returned to you. No worries."

I nodded, satisfied with her answer, even though I felt a bit naked without them.

"Well I better go check on the children," she said getting up from the table, "if you need anything I'll be in the library, it's almost storytime."

"Thanks Carol."

She gave me a small smile and nod and headed back inside.

I sighed a huge breath and closed my eyes, lifting my head toward the sun. It had been so long since I could just breathe, relax, and not worry about almost being eaten alive. My thoughts started to wonder to my family. My mother, my father, my brother James...

"Aye..." a gruff voice interrupted my thoughts.

I opened my eyes to see Daryl standing in front of me, holding his crossbow behind one shoulder.

"Hey Daryl," I said smiling slightly at him. He seemed rough around the edges, but he saved my life. He was one of the good guys, I felt it in my very being. Plus he was kinda hot so that helped, besides who wasn't rough around the edges these days.

"Carol said you were planning on sleeping in the guard tower."

"Yes."

"Sure that's a good idea with that leg? Hershel said to take it easy. "

"Looking out for me Daryl?" I smiled, teasing him.

"Just sayin..commen sense." he said shifting his feet.

"I'll manage."

"Well...if you need help clearing it out..I can help. Get you at least a matress from the cells up there."

"Thank you.." I said thoughtfully, "If you dont think it's a good idea why would you help me."

"If you would rather sleep up there, it's not my business," he muttered, "but we help our own so..but I'll only help if you give it a couple days and let that leg heal some before you try climbing it."

"I don't think I can sleep in one of those cells Daryl..Too much like a cage."

He laughed then, "Yeah, I said the same thing. You can sleep on the perch for a few days then. Plenty of room."

"That where you sleep?"

He nodded, chewing on his thumb.

"Asking me to sleep with you on the first day Daryl?" I said slyly, teasing him again. It was just too easy.

"Stop, forget it," he said starting to walk away.

"Daryl!" I called after him.

He stopped and turned to look at me over his shoulder.

"Deal."


	5. Chapter 4

_Quiet._

All I could hear was the breeze running through the cell block and the soft sounds of people breathing. Although it was a nice change from the snarls of walkers and the screams of their occasional victims.

I tossed onto my back for what seemed like the millionth time and sighed as I stared at the concrete ceiling. True, sleeping on the perch was better than one of those cells, but it still didn't feel right. I had made a pallet on the opposite end of the stairs, right down from Daryl. I just couldn't sleep, too much on my mind I guess.

Finally I gave up and got up from my makeshift bed. There was always at least one thing that helped me clear my head. Creeping past Daryl, who seemed to be sound asleep, I grabbed the railing and eased myself down one step at a time. Yeah, see I could do this, I'll be climbing that guard tower in no time.

Slowly, I made my way outside and was finally graced with my greatest passion in life, or used to be, the stars.

I hobbled over to one of the picnic tables and heaved myself on top of one, resting my feet on the bench. I leaned back until my elbows rested against the table and pulled a pack of Newport's I scavanged a while ago out of my pocket and my zippo. Takeing a drag off the menthol cigarette and drinking in the night sky, I finally felt like I could breathe a little. Gotta find a little happiness in this world somehow I guess.

"Holding out on me blondie?" a voice said from behind me, scareing me so bad I almost dropped my cigarette. I snapped my head in the direction of the voice to find Daryl walking up to my table with a questioning look in his eyes.

"What ya mean?"

He laughed a little and gestured to the cigarette.

"Oh, you want one?" I said offering him the pack. He took it from me and got him one out and handed me the pack back.

"A little late to be out star-gazeing princess," he said lighting the opposite end of the smoke.

"Couldn't sleep," I said quietly, "Sorry if I woke you, I thought I was being quiet."

"You didn't," he said leaning against the side of the table, "I couldn't sleep for shit either."

"You fooled the hell out of me then," I said, "I could have swore you were asleep."

"Well I couldn't let you know I was awake. I wouldn't have been able to see where you were sneakin off to."

"I wasn't sneaking. Just trying to be quiet. Common courtesy."

Daryl just nodded, takeing another drag from his cigerette.

I looked back up to the sky as it fell silent around us.

"I'm sorry," Daryl muttered beside me, making me turn back to him confused.

"What for?" I asked shocked that someone like him would be apologizing for anything at all.

"For pushing you to tell us why you were running from those guys... Things haven't been easy for us...We already had a run-in with a homicidal maniac called the Governor. I was just trying to make sure you weren't a threat to what we have here...I didnt know they did that to you...I'm sorry."

For a minute I was speechless, Daryl was very determined not to look at me the whole time. Knowing what it took for him to even contemplate saying that meant a lot. I reached over and touched his hand he had resting on the table so he would meet my eyes, "There's no way you could have known..You were protecting your group, I get it. You don't have to be sorry."

I kept eye contact with him to let him know I was serious. He nodded his response, but even in the dim light I could see the guilt on his face. I decided to take his mind off of it and changed the subject.

"The sky is clear tonight, I can see the The Milky Way," I said turning back to the sky.

"Hmph...stars, that's what you came all the way out here for?"

I smiled up at the moon, "They're all thats left of my old life...when I was young, my dad would take me outside and we would lay back on his '77 Chrysler and try to pick out constellations..since the first time I looked up and saw those twinkling lights so far away, I knew what I wanted to do in life.."

I felt Daryl's eyes on me, "What you were some kind of star-gazer before the shit hit the fan?"

"Close, Astronomer."

"Hmph..who would pay you to look at the sky all damn night?" Daryl scowled.

"NASA.." I said quietly.

I could feel his eyes on me again.

"Bullshit... you worked for NASA?"

"Mmhm, before the world went to shit, I was studying the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy with a woman named Andrea Ghez at the Keck Observatory near Mauna Kea in Hawaii. That was my main objective anyway, my side project was finding binary neutron stars and studying their movements and collisions."

"Some heavy shit..." Daryl said softly, I could still feel his gaze on me, "If you were working in Hawaii, how the hell you end up in Georgia?"

My eyes shifted from the sky to him, questioning whether I should open up this much to someone I had just met.

 _Oh what the hell, might as well.._

"Family. I was born here, South Georgia. I came home for my fathers funeral..he put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger when he found out my mother was cheating with the neighbor...they had been married 35 years.."

"Damn...sorry for asking.."

"Don't be...I was scheduled for a flight back to Hawaii but before I could board, walkers over-ran the airport. I went back home but...it was already too late. When I got back, I found my brother James in our living room, still eating my mother and her lover. I ran when I saw him...locked myself in his room...that's when I found my weapons..I cut my brothers head off and...here I am...still alive."

My voice had gone quiet while I was telling Daryl my story. The pain of losing my family the way I did still haunts me. I kept my gaze on the stars so the tears that threatened to fall would stay inside where they belonged. No room for tears these days.

I felt a gentle touch on my arm and turned to look at Daryl, "It's not your fault.."

"I know..." I whispered smiling grimly at him, "nevertheless, I'm alone in this world now either way you look at it "

"Your not alone. You have us."

I gave him a small smile and nodded at him, "Your right...I do."

"A sword-weilding astronomer who fights zombies. Sounds like a damn video game," he mused.

Both of us laughed and fell silent for a few minutes, watching the stars wink at us in the distance.

"Well then smartass, if your so star-savvy, tell me something about them," Daryl teased, turning the conversation away from my pain.

I laughed at his way with words and sat up on the edge of the table searching for my target.

"You see Orion's belt right there," I said pointing to the constellation.

"Mmhm."

"The star to the left right below the belt, the really bright one. It's name is Betelgeuse."

"Like the movie?"

"Yep. It's my favorite star. A red giant, due to supernova soon. It's dying."

"Supernova?"

"Explode in layman's terms. It will release more energy into space in one second than the entire time its been alive, creating a nebula of color. I used to turn my telescope to it from time to time while I was working just to check on it. After it's death it will either become a neutron star or a black hole, my money is on a neutron star, or more specifically a pulsar. When we measured its brightness, it's already pulsing with energy, it's got an enormous hump on the top of it from the pent up hydrogen and helium. I could be wrong, only time will tell though. Just my theroy."

"Well I guess you weren't lying," Daryl chuckled, "You know your shit.

I turned to him and found him stareing stareing at the direction of Betelgeuse, obviously intrigued.

"Understanding the heavens has been what my whole life has been about since as far back as I can remember, guess it doesn't matter now with the way the world is."

"It matters," Daryl said looking at me with his bright blue eyes.

I gave him a smile and threw my burnt up cigarette to the ground, "Ready to try and get some sleep now?"

"If you are Blondie."

I shifted to the side of the table and let myself down onto the ground. Daryl walked beside me up to the steps that led inside to the cell block. Before I could take the first step, his hand on my arm stopped me.

"Hey..."he said quietly.

I looked up at him, his face half in darkness, "Just because the world changed completely dont mean you have to. This world made you a survivor, but don't lose the part of you that made your eyes light up when you started talking to me about that star."

The fact that he noticed how talking about Betelgeuse brightened my mood, suprised me. Very perceptive, this one.

"I won't," I said quietly and started up the stairs.

"Tomorrow, I'll start helping you clean out that guard tower," he said following me up the stairs.

"Thought you said you wouldn't help unless I slept inside the cell block a few days," I said looking back at him over my shoulder.

"If you can climb down stairs and get all the way out here on your own, you can climb that guard tower."

"Thanks Daryl," I gave him one last smile before we entered the cell block.

I laid down on my bed, listening to Daryl get comfortable on the other side of the perch. It suprised me that a man like Daryl, who was obviously emotionally closed off towards most people, was the one person I was starting to get comfortable with. Then again, I'm not the most social person in the world either. Maybe it made more sense than I was giving it credit that we got along.

"Daryl..." I whispered into the silent room.

"Mmhm," came his hushed response.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Blondie."


	6. Chapter 5

"How you feeling Athena?" Hershel said wallking up to me in the morning while I was watching Carol cook everyone breakfast.

"Feeling a lot better Hershel, thank you," I said greeting the older man with a smile as he sat down beside me, "The more I walk, the better it feels."

"Good, just don't push it for a few more days and you will be good as new."

"Some breakfast Hershel?" Carol asked, holding out a plate to him.

"Thank you," he said taking the plate graciously.

Daryl chose that moment to walk out of the cell block. I smiled at him as he walked over and grabbed a plate from Carol. He nodded his response as he sat down on the opposite side of Hershel with his food.

"Gonna have to go on a run soon I think Daryl, getting low on some essentials," Hershel said to the other man, making conversation.

Daryl nodded as he shoveled his food into his mouth. It made me think of my brother, he always ate like a barbarian.

"Hershel, I heard you were in posession of my weapons until I was well enough for them to be returned to me."

"I am."

"I would love to have them back now that I'm feeling better."

Hershel chewed on his breakfast and looked at me steadily.

"I know you don't know anything about me and your all just being cautious..but they have meaning for me. I need them back."

Everyone was silent, you could feel the air tense up around us, like everyone was holding their breath.

"Give her shit back to her," Daryl said not looking up from his food.

The look on everyone's face was the same, shock.

I looked across the table at him and he met my eyes as I gave him a look that said clearly, thank you.

"It's hers. Give it back." Daryl said as he saw Hershel still looking at him skeptically.

Finally Hershel nodded and gave his plate back to Carol.

"I'll go fetch them for you," Hershel said leaning on his cane for support as he stood up.

"Thank you," I said to Daryl as soon as the old man was inside.

Daryl nodded as he finished his plate, "You should be armed staying in that tower anyway."

I smiled brilliantly at him. He quickly got up, hiding his face and gave his plate to Carol.

"When Hershel gets back with your weapons, meet me up there and we'll start clearing it out," he said before he walked off with his hair hanging in front of his face.

"So what's going on with you and Daryl?" Carol asked as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Whad'ya mean?" I asked.

"Well first of all, Daryl is probably the most cautious of all of us here and the quietest. He's doesn't speak up much, especially for people he just met. Secondly, the minute you smiled at him his face got as red as a foxes tail."

"No it didn't!"

"Oh yeah, why do you think he got up and left. He was hiding it from you. But I saw."

"Nothing's going on, he's just helping me clean out the guard tower. Anyone of you would do the same right?"

"Yeah, but Daryl would have never been the first to volunteer," Carol said peeking at me out if the corner of her eye as she washed up the dishes.

"We get along well, that's all," I said looking down at the table and tracing the wood with my finger.

"Really well I would say," Carol said smirking.

I was about to say something back to her when I was interrupted by Hershel's return, carrying my small arsenal of weapons in his hands.

"If Daryl trusts you enough to give them back to you, then so do we," he said smiling at me.

"Thank you Hershel," I said taking my weapons from him.

I tied my katana at my hip and strapped the band of throwing knives diagonally across my chest. The sai I had to slip on like a jacket so they could hang just under my arms for easy access. The field knife I strapped to my thigh. Finally I slung my M4 across my back, hanging by its thick strap. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, with my weapons back in their home,I felt like I could finally breathe freely again. The comforting weight of each one making me more calm and sure of myself. When I finally looked back at Hershel he was standing there with a somewhat sorrowful look in his eyes.

"Its a shame..." he finally said, "A pretty little blonde-headed, blue eyed thing like you shouldn't have to gear up for war to feel safe. This world has changed so much...I see my daughters when I look at you...at what they will have to become to survive and it breaks my heart."

I stepped over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, "Yes...the world changed and us along with it. Be proud of who your daughters are becoming Hershel, it might not be the life you would have chosen for them but they are doing what they can with what they have been given. They are survivors, and that alone should ease the pain of your broken heart."

Hershel nodded and gave my hand a squeeze before walking back inside. I watched him walk away, wondering what my parents and brother would think of me, the way I am now. I gripped the handle to my katana, letting it dig into my palm. No, this isn't the life my parents wanted for their little girl but I would like to think they would be proud of the survivor I had become. This world would not break me. I would survive, and I was going to make sure these people survived along with me.


End file.
